Some Truth About Saint Patrick

 

So with 50% of my ancestry being from Ireland, I often get riled up about St. Patrick's day and all the bullshit that surrounds the guy. I get the day is all about Irish pride and really just morphed into an excuse to party, but considering the facts, I find it to be more insulting to the people of Ireland and those who come from Irish heritage. 

"What's in a name?" Yeah, lets start there. Dude isn't a saint. Catholics/Christians are always taking a hardline on things, yet they have let it slide that Patrick is called "Saint Patrick" and gets all the hoopla of being a saint. Except he was never officially canonized as a saint. So it's just bullshit.

Then there is the big myth and/or metaphor that Patrick drove the snakes out of Ireland. It's always been pushed that the snakes represent sin and the pagans and it was an easy bullshit story to push since no one had seen any snakes in Ireland. You see, all evidence suggests that post-glacial Ireland never had snakes. “At no time has there ever been any suggestion of snakes in Ireland.”

Patrick was born in Great Britain, to parents who were both Italian. Yes, Patrick was not Irish. Not at all. 

When he was 16 he was captured by pirates, taken to Ireland and enslaved. He learned the language and traditions and after six years he escaped and returned to England. He studied Christianity and was ordained. He went back to Ireland as a missionary, where he would use the knowledge of the pagan rituals and traditions to help him force Christianity on the people there.

Listen, you want to drink, go ahead. You want to eat Corned Beef, go ahead. You want to be proud your family came from Ireland, or that you're from Ireland, be fucking proud. But know why you're proud. And don't be proud because of a whole bunch of make-believe.

Monday Moaning

I don't know about you, but I could use a vacation right now...I'm betting I wouldn't be able to come back after a vacation with her...

So things here in Beezeland went from bad, to worse...After all those family issues I addressed in the past couple weeks I thought we were getting back on track...But late last Sunday night we got a call...Late night phone calls are never good...My father-in-law had a stroke at some restaurant...He snuck out...Took the car we just helped my mother-in-law get...Wouldn't leave the place when they were trying to close...Wasn't making sense...Wouldn't show ID...The police were called...he had a stroke....FUCK!

My wife spent the week there in Erie, PA...Her sisters came in from Boston...They spent the week dealing with the family's screwed up financial situation...My father-in-law's Alzheimer's screwed stuff up bad...They were back and forth to the banks, hospital, checking out assisted living places, talking to lawyers...Non-stop headaches, while also trying to keep their mother calm, and worrying about their father's health...

My wife came home Friday wiped out, and knowing she'll have to be heading back within the next couple weeks to finish dealing with this stuff, and cleaning out the house...They have my in laws getting setup to go into an assisted living home...The rest of what is going on I won't get into...So much crap, and so many details...

The kids were thrilled to have her home, and so was I...Molly welcomed her with an overloaded, shit filled diaper...As soon as my wife was done cleaning her up, and before she could get a new diaper on...Molly stood up, and pissed on the carpet, right at her feet...'Welcome home Mom! Think about that next time you leave!'  I had to laugh....She's been very clingy to mom all weekend...

You would think that this is where I would get into the sports talk...I'll try...

The only bit of sports I saw this past week was the Notre Dame/Western Michigan hockey game Friday night...The Irish lost the 3-3 battle in the 6th round of a shootout...But the game goes in the national standing as a tie...The Irish play in the CCHA right now...The only conference that goes to a shootout...But the CCHA will be gone after this year...The Big Ten will have their own Hockey conference ripping Ohio State, Michigan, Mich State, from the CCHA, and Minnesota and Wisconsin from the WCHA...They will all be joined but Penn State's young program...

6 WCHA teams, Colorado College, Denver, Minnesota-Duluth, Nebraska-Omaha, North Dakota, and St. Cloud State, along with Miami (Ohio) and Western Michigan will form the NCHC (National Collegiate Hockey Conference)...

The WCHA will stay alive with Alaska-Anchorage, Bemidji State, Michigan Tech, and Minnesota State...They'll add CCHA teams, Alaska, (that never made sense anyways) Ferris State, Lake Superior State, Northern Michigan, and Bowling Green...

Notre Dame will be heading to the college hockey power house conference, Hockey East...

Are you asleep yet!?!

I have to say, what I've paid a lot of attention to, besides my kids has been this whole Pope stepping down thing...I had watched the HBO documentary MEA_MAXIMA_CULPA...It's all about the Catholic Church's sex scandal, and how a group of deaf guys really blew the story up and got it out there...It also shows how the Pope and the guy before him need to be held accountable...

This pic should have been a warning sign that this guy was no good!

I've been going to religion classes with my two oldest kids for 6 months while they go through the Rite of Catholic Initiation...When we had our oldest, many churches wouldn't baptize her because we didn't get married in the church...So we blew it off until this year when they started at Catholic school...The Pastor there is cool, and has been helpful...During the Easter Vigil Mass they'll be Baptized, make their first confession, and first Communion...

I'm not a real pro-church guy, but the Catholic education I got was good...And theirs has been great so far...And I like the idea of having some help giving them their moral compass...They don't have to buy into it all if they don't want...I didn't...we just want to give them a start...

But from all that I have seen, and been reading, the Church is a lot like our government...It's broken at the top...and upper management...and middle management...While it's little parishes, and small church groups that are doing the right things, and the heavy lifting...If any of this interests you, seriously, watch that documentary...It's great, and horrifying, eye-opening, and excellent.

If you aren't interested in any of this...Sorry...It's what I got this week...Told ya I need a vacation!   Maybe check THIS out...It just won the Oscar for best Documentary!

Have a week...

The Beeze.